Fractalkine: A Cellular Link Between Adipose Tissue Inflammation and Vascular Pathologies

It is hard to imagine, given the wealth of new datareported over the recent past, that adipose tissue atone time was primarily considered as a passive res-ervoir for energy deposition and storage. However, research beginning in the early 1990s on the role of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a ushered in a new era of inves-tigation, and since that time, there has been an incredibly rapid and substantive increase in our understanding of underlying physiologic systems and molecular pathways linking obesity, inflammation, and insulin action (1,2). Spe-cifically, our understanding of the link between obesity and carbohydrate metabolism has been significantly enhanced with the elucidation of key regulators of energy balance and cellular insulin signaling that are complex and highly in-tegrated (3–6). We now readily accept adipose tissue as a key endocrine organ regulating processes throughout the body with its significant number of adipocyte secre-tions. What now appears to be emerging is the elucidation